In my last post, I was appalled that we were still so "at war." But even more, why does it cost so much more with so many fewer soldiers than, for example, Viet Nam? Carl suggested it was paying all of those contractors: I think we might have to ask Halliburton. If we got hold […]
With all this talk of war, I thought I’d check up on our troop levels and other stuff: For comparison:
I’ve spent several weeks watching the British Chilcot Inquiry. The distinguished members of the panel are impressively bright as they sort through the proceedings that lead England to join with the United States in an invasion of Iraq that, in retrospect, seems to have been an incredible folly. The people being interviewed are equally impressive […]
Johnathan Powell, Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff Johnathan Powell was Blair’s man and was on the defensive. That aside, there’s a very strong point that comes from his testimony. Powell absolutely believed that Saddam Hussein had WMD, as did, presumably, Prime Minister Tony Blair. In that part of his testimony, he didn’t seem defensive. I […]
hat tip to Joy Hollywood
Sir David Manning, Tony Blair’s foreign policy adviser, was heavily involved in the run-up to the Iraq Invasion. His version made Blair’s action fairly simple. When the American "patience ran out," Blair stood by his word to Bush that the UK would be with the US until the end. Like Greenstock and Meyer, he felt […]
Sir Christopher Meyer was the UK Ambassador to the US. He’s quite a character himself – his testimony peppered with phrases like "kick the shit out of…" and "pretty damn fast…" The video even has the label, "Warning! This video contains mild swearing." He sounds a bit like a Texan [with a British accent]. While […]
I’ve been going back and watching the video of the Chilcot Inquiry before I caught on to it. These are a few quotes from the November 2009 testimony of Sir Jeremy Greenstock – UK Ambassador to the UN 1998-2003. After the years of listening to the simplistic political dialogue in our country, listening to this […]
Secret papers could contradict Iraq evidence: Chilcot The Sydney Morning Herald by CHRISTOPHER HOPE February 10, 2010 LONDON: Tens of thousands of secret documents could contradict evidence given by members of the Blair government to the inquiry into the Iraq war, its chairman, Sir John Chilcot, has suggested as the former prime minister lashed out […]
Smoke the Bigots Out of the Closet New York Times By FRANK RICH February 6, 2010 A funny thing happened after Adm. Mike Mullen called for gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military: A curious silence befell much of the right. If this were a Sherlock Holmes story, it would be the […]